Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 41

Thread: Has anyone actually built "The Anarchists Tool Chest"?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    South Bend IN 46613
    Posts
    843

    Has anyone actually built "The Anarchists Tool Chest"?

    My wife and I occasionally have discussions and one time we were talking about tools and she suggested I enjoy using the ones I have instead of spending time searching for more. This actually makes sense to me. I am hoping that "The Anarchists Tool Chest" will pave the way for that. I can box just the tools I need and sell or display the rest then start actually building stuff. I received my copy of the book today and it really looks hopeful to me in spite of all the errors in it. Has anyone actually followed the direction in the book and built the chest? I did a search and did not come up with much. There is a lot of discussion of the book but no actual application.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] "You don't have to give birth to someone to have a family." (Sandra Bullock)




  2. #2
    Listen to your wife.
    once you've got the tools get working wood.
    rust hunting is fun but tricky and time consuming. a minute to examine and purchase and a week to get working.
    It can be surprisingly easy to amass a collection of questionable antiques That are not fit users or collectibles unless you have a lot of buying experience.
    I'm in the midst of building the chest. i have a few years experience and it's a big job. Neanderthal wood working takes time.
    theres enough info on this forum and lost art and the book to answer your questions and get the chest done.
    also follow Chris's instructions and buy the best hand tools you can afford. I'd add: as you need them.

  3. #3
    I have the book, and I'm building a smaller version of it. It's based in the dimensions of the "carved marquetry" chest mentioned in his blog, and to be covered soon in PWW.

    As a matter of fact, I just wrapped up gluing up the lid. It's under clamps for the night.

    It is slow going, but I'm pretty new, and I work on it in little time slices.

    I've also cheated a bit: I've used a table saw for rips, and a lunchbox planer. That's fine by me, and by Chris as far as I can tell!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,120
    Made two tool chests, up to others whether it is an 'ATC" sort of thing.
    IMAG0002.jpg
    This one has a few trays
    IMAG0006.jpg
    And a saw til in the bottom. Made from what wood I had. Till was too short for full sized saws, though
    tool chest #2 opened.jpg
    So tool chest #2 was made a bit bigger, saw till moved to the lid. Trays were resized a bit
    trays.jpg
    and a tote.
    Tool Chest #2 TOTE.jpg
    with chisel rack. Tool chest #1 was Walnut & Pine, raised panels in frames. Tool chest #2 was Oak frames, with pine raised panels. I also built a plane till, to make room in the two chests for other things,,
    ,full till.jpg
    As for rust hunting, it is a habit I like to have. Between the rust hunts, antique stores, and FeeBay.....have rarely had to buy anything new . Neanderthal woodworking only takes time, IF you allow it to. IF you work at the same speed as the old wood workers did, doesn't take nearly as long as some make it out to be. Just a matter of getting the work done as fast as it can be done. One does not have the time to sit back and admire how thin a shaving is being made, one has to get that board smooth flat and square as fast as can be. 0.00001 shavings won't get the job done. It would take all day to do one board. And the master would fire that person.

    rant over. Anyway, no matter what size chest one builds, it will soon be over-flowing in short order. The ATC was an attempt to keep tool levels down to just the bare basics one needs to have. I may try to build Tool Chest #3 later this year. Mine aren't designed to "travel".
    Last edited by steven c newman; 05-26-2015 at 11:28 PM.

  5. #5
    Moses,

    I would suggest before you go too far into making a tool chest that you make first a mockup and see how you like the chest for size. I suggest this as I too read the book and was all set to get going on one, albeit out of plywood (the horror!), but I checked the volume of a metal gangbox I have and figured the chest would take up too much space.

    This I think would be a common complaint. I don't want to deter you, but that chest would be a big hunk.

    Anyways, when I was on my toolchest journey I did more guesswork and chanced upon a smaller toolchest. I raised the height on this with some 1x6 and made a sliding till to match the one it came with. This gave me something that approximates Schwarz' Traveling Anarchist Chest. I worked out of this for a while until I got fed up with the sliding tills and just built something that looks more like a mechanic's chest of drawers.

    I don't want to put you off, just suggesting that you make one on the cheap first or mock one up. Putting your smaller tools on the bench and assign which would go in which tool tray and see if the chest would accommodate all that you have/need. You might find that the chest doesn't have a handy spot for a bit and brace etc.

    Having said all this, I am a big fan of the book: its ideals, suggestions and methods.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    528
    I started building before the book was published. For that and other reasons, mine is not an exact copy, but it's similar and certainly based on what Schwarz built, which in turn is based on historical examples.

    Prior to building the chest, my tools were scattered around the basement. Inefficient to say the least. I thought a lot about the tools I would put in the chest as I was making it, and even more so when the chest was complete. I considered every tool I had and asked myself "am I using this tool, or do I expect to in the near future?" If so, it went in the chest.

    I made a second pile for tools of two types: I had never used the tool but thought I would some day on an appropriate project, or it had some collectible value (very little of that). Eventually I made a six-board chest to house those tools. It's a humble piece of furniture in the house, useful as a small sitting bench.

    The third pile: junk. Buried in a cardboard box out of sight out of mind.

    Over time I have rearranged a few things in the chest, acquired new tools and demoted old ones. These photos are from just filling up the chest for the first time, so not entirely current, but gives you the basic idea.

    toolchest1.jpgtoolchest2.jpgtoolchest3.jpg

    As Jude said, it's pretty large. You need some real estate near your bench where the tool chest lives. Like Schwarz I put casters on mine so it could be rolled around, but it has to go somewhere. You do have to bend down to get things out of the chest, so if just the thought of that makes your back hurt, it's probably not the storage option for you. If you like every tool you own to be immediately visible, you probably won't like the sliding tills and the bottom back area of the chest below the tills (traditionally for moulding planes). If you cringe at the thought of tools rolling provocatively against each other with reckless abandon you definitely won't like the tills, unless you get into french fitting, but that's something the ATC is strongly opposed to.

    Schwarz has said a number of times that he never really expected anyone to build the chest. The real purpose of the book was to describe the basic toolkit necessary to build most furniture, and encourage people to own fewer but better tools. After reading the book, building and working out of the chest, I began to think more carefully about adding additional tools. Do I really need that, or can I do the task satisfactory with what I already have?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Suffolk County, Long Island NY
    Posts
    1,150
    Moses,

    Before I purchased the ATC I built my own version from scraps of plywood: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ays&highlight=

    After using it for several years my feeling is that it is a great solution for tool storage, with anti-corrosion emitters from Lee-Valley mounted inside I can leave it in my unheated garage all winter with my wife's car dripping snow & salt on the floor running underneath it (and I live on an island about 1/2 mile from a salt water bay and 300ft from a freshwater brook) then go and open the lid in March to find all my tools rust free.

    If you want easy access, and visual reminders that you actually own certain tools, then a tool rack or wall of tool holders or inclined surface like Lie-Nielsen uses at shows is much more convenient.

    If you want a mobile solution you'd be better off with the Traveling Anarchists Toolchest, a Japanese tool box, or the Dutch Tool Chest.

    Pete
    Last edited by Peter Pedisich; 05-27-2015 at 12:57 AM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Suffolk County, Long Island NY
    Posts
    1,150
    Andrae, this has always been one of my favorites, love the tills and the selection of tools, well done! -Pete

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrae Covington View Post
    I started building before the book was published. For that and other reasons, mine is not an exact copy, but it's similar and certainly based on what Schwarz built, which in turn is based on historical examples.

    Prior to building the chest, my tools were scattered around the basement. Inefficient to say the least. I thought a lot about the tools I would put in the chest as I was making it, and even more so when the chest was complete. I considered every tool I had and asked myself "am I using this tool, or do I expect to in the near future?" If so, it went in the chest.

    I made a second pile for tools of two types: I had never used the tool but thought I would some day on an appropriate project, or it had some collectible value (very little of that). Eventually I made a six-board chest to house those tools. It's a humble piece of furniture in the house, useful as a small sitting bench.

    The third pile: junk. Buried in a cardboard box out of sight out of mind.

    Over time I have rearranged a few things in the chest, acquired new tools and demoted old ones. These photos are from just filling up the chest for the first time, so not entirely current, but gives you the basic idea.

    toolchest1.jpgtoolchest2.jpgtoolchest3.jpg

    As Jude said, it's pretty large. You need some real estate near your bench where the tool chest lives. Like Schwarz I put casters on mine so it could be rolled around, but it has to go somewhere. You do have to bend down to get things out of the chest, so if just the thought of that makes your back hurt, it's probably not the storage option for you. If you like every tool you own to be immediately visible, you probably won't like the sliding tills and the bottom back area of the chest below the tills (traditionally for moulding planes). If you cringe at the thought of tools rolling provocatively against each other with reckless abandon you definitely won't like the tills, unless you get into french fitting, but that's something the ATC is strongly opposed to.

    Schwarz has said a number of times that he never really expected anyone to build the chest. The real purpose of the book was to describe the basic toolkit necessary to build most furniture, and encourage people to own fewer but better tools. After reading the book, building and working out of the chest, I began to think more carefully about adding additional tools. Do I really need that, or can I do the task satisfactory with what I already have?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    My wife and I occasionally have discussions and one time we were talking about tools and she suggested I enjoy using the ones I have instead of spending time searching for more. This actually makes sense to me. I am hoping that "The Anarchists Tool Chest" will pave the way for that.
    This makes me think you haven't made enough things around the house for your wife to feel the presence of your woodworking. That is one of the secrets of finding yourself helping your wife in with the groceries and her then handing you a box with some tools in it she thought you might be able to use.

    My plan for a tool storage system is still in its formative process. The Anarchists Tool Chest doesn't work for me bending over all day long.

    Making a tool chest may help organize and in turn limit the number of tools you are able to seek. It reminds me of a line in a movie, "if a man washes a dish and a woman doesn't see it, did it really happen?" That is a bit of a rephrasing but the same idea. Your wife will see, but not 'feel' your tool chest. Build her a sewing chest and she will 'feel' it.

    Find a woodworking need she has and fill it. I made my wife a tea cabinet because she had boxes of tea all over the kitchen cupboards. She hasn't stopped talking about it to friends and people at the farmers market. I have another in progress to sell. One of her friends wants one... So where is this going? If it is somehow mentioned to her that a particular tool might help improve the tea cabinet project, she will be more enthused about me looking for said tool.

    Another aid in getting the wife to go along with buying old tools is occasionally I buy and sell tools to make a profit. I do keep an eye on what is being bought and how much it can bring when sold. That is where you need to be up on current prices and what function a tool serves.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 05-27-2015 at 2:28 AM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    1,209
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Find a woodworking need she has and fill it. I made my wife a tea cabinet because she had boxes of tea all over the kitchen cupboards. She hasn't stopped talking about it to friends and people at the farmers market.
    This is some of the best advice I have seen on this site. It is a lot more fun if you are in it together. I have a simple little table I made for my wife. It has not served its original purpose in years, but keeps getting moved around the house and being given new jobs. We have both gotten way more pleasure out of it then the $9 I think I paid for the material.

    I never really thought of it in these terms, but making something for her opens the door to explaining how it was made, what tools were involved, and some of the very nice memories I have are of her sitting on my saw bench in the workshop lending an occasional hand or advice (she has a pretty good instinct for what will look good) and the two of us talking while I work on something.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    I built one new chest and modified a vintage chest when I first got started with hand tool woodworking. I still use them. I have Chris's book and did enjoy it, although I must admit my frustration that every traditional style tool chest is now referred to as an "anarchist" chest... but one has to learn to pick his battles.

    Here is a pic of my main box (the vintage blue one which used to be red) and my shop-built green chest (where I keep my sash tools and other infrequently used molding planes). You will also see a wall hung box where I keep my various sharpening and sandpaper supplies and a Jennings machinist's chest where I keep my carving tools, miscellaneous other small tools, and the hardware for whatever projects I have in the works.

    DSC_0160.jpgDSC_0161.jpgDSC_0168.jpg
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    I don't see the attraction to the Anarchists tool chest personally because 1) I hate to give up the floor space in my small shop, 2) I don't like the idea of digging under sliding trays to get at the tools underneath, 3) I really don't like the bending over it takes to get into those style of tool cabinets. If you do build one though, put some nice big casters under it so you can actually move it to where you need it.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Western Nebraska
    Posts
    4,680
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    I don't see the attraction to the Anarchists tool chest personally because 1) I hate to give up the floor space in my small shop, 2) I don't like the idea of digging under sliding trays to get at the tools underneath, 3) I really don't like the bending over it takes to get into those style of tool cabinets. If you do build one though, put some nice big casters under it so you can actually move it to where you need it.
    I agree. I tried an old chest out for a couple years or so, it is very similar to the ATC. The tool I needed was always in a compartment that required digging to get to. With better placement of my tools, maybe it could have worked. They become very heavy very quick. I used a pallet jack to move mine around for a while, until my stepfather broke the lid, and it just became another project to fix someday. It's a neat old chest, and would work well for someone into such things but doesn't want to build one from scratch. Come to think of it, I ought to list it here.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Penn Yan, NY
    Posts
    140
    I built a chest based on Schwarz's book a few years ago. I moved last year and it spent the summer in the garage and got pretty beat up. It's still waiting for another coat of paint. I had also decided to use rope handles like the Seaton chest but haven't gotten around to splicing the rope grommets (I just tied on temporary handles when we moved it). It did work out well for moving and storing my tools over the summer, though.

    This was one of my first projects and it taught me a lot about selecting good wood. I bought some home store pine that was warpy and knotty which gave me a lot of frustration. I almost abandoned the whole project after gluing up the panels and having a bunch of twist in one. Instead I decided to shorten the chest and cut off the bad board. So it ended up being smaller than the plans called for. As a result I can only fit two sliding trays and things are a bit tight.

    Edit - Looking at the pictures, the top views look oddly circular (front and back bowed out). That's from the camera.

    front.jpg top.jpg trays.jpg
    Last edited by Christian Thompson; 05-27-2015 at 9:16 AM.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    7,254
    Blog Entries
    7
    Just start building, you'll find out where your current tools lack as soon as you get into a few projects and have some experience.

    Most of what needs to be done can be accomplished with a small set of planes, a set of saws, a setup for drilling and a set of chisels.

    Don't have a dado plane? Use a saw. No dovetail plane? Make a batten. Don't have a router plane? Use a chisel.

    Also, if you build something for your mom....make sure you also build something for your wife...
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •